For the second year in a row, the Missouri Tigers proved to be an immovable force for the Kansas University softball team in the second game of an NCAA regional in Columbia, Missouri.

The Jayhawks (39-14) fell to the Tigers, 5-3, in Columbia and now will play the winner of the elimination game between Louisville and Indiana State late Saturday night with a trip to Sunday’s regional championship game against Mizzou on the line.

KU led for much of Saturday’s game but three runs from the Tigers in the fifth put MU up for good.

“We’ve won a lot of close games all season,” KU coach Megan Smith said. “You’ve got to give credit to Mizzou and their hitters for coming through that inning. They had multiple quality at bats in a row. If you do that at this level then you’re going to have success.”

The Jayhawks out-hit the Tigers 9-8 but Missouri came up with more timely hitting and held off a KU rally in which the Jayhawks put runners at first and second in the top of the seventh but came away empty.

Senior third baseman Chanin Naudin paced Kansas’ offense with a perfect 3-for-3 performance at the plate and contributed two RBIs.

The loss dropped starting pitcher Alicia Pille to 24-7 on the season and Pille threw her eighth complete game of the year.

“This late in the season, I’m not going to feel any fatigue at all,” Pille said after the loss. “That’s not where my head is. I’m going to throw out there until I’m not able to throw any longer. I’ll be there for my team as long as they need me.”

The game, which was slated for a 10 a.m. start, was pushed back to 3 p.m. because of more bad weather that moved through the area.